The Only Human FAQ

1. Is Alara Rogers ever going to update Only Human?

Yes.

2. Why did Chapter 4 take you so long?

I had kids.

3. Well, when are you going to post the next chapter?

I have to write it first.

4.Okay, when are you going to write the next chapter?

I just wrote 60,000 words in a month so I could finish this damn one. Don't push your luck. :-) But the answer is basically that I have various other projects I need to give some love to first, such as my original novels and some other Q stories like Working in Groups, so it's unlikely I will get to starting Chapter 5 until next year. However, when I do start, my mailing list will be getting the story in beta draft posts, so they will see it before anyone else.

5. Where's your mailing list? How can I subscribe?

Send email to onlyhuman-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, or visit the web site and sign up.

6. Why are you so mean to Q? Do you hate him or something?

I'm a hurt/comfort writer. In other words, I get a vicarious thrill out of being inside the head of a character who suffers. I torment characters I love, not characters I hate, and I sympathize with them as I do it. I also tend to pick on characters who I think are strong enough to take it, and who are not "innocent"-- rather than beating up on cheerful, fresh-faced teenage superheroines, I beat up on people who are cynical, aware of the darkness in the universe, and have committed their share of Not Nice Acts. Q qualifies.

7. Are Q and T'Laren ever going to have sex?

You haven't read Chapter 4 yet, have you?

8. Is the Secret Toy Surprise a sneak preview of a scene from the future?

I'm starting to think not, but it would be from Chapter 5, so I can't say for sure. A similar scene may or may not occur.

9. Is T'Laren a Mary Sue?

I joke about this sometimes, but I don't think so. Hell, I don't really think Queria Lang is a Mary Sue (you haven't met her in OH yet, but she appears in PropinQuity), and she's a lot closer to the technical definition, except for the "steals the show" part. T'Laren is an original character, who shares some of my characteristics and exists in part to deal with issues that affect me profoundly, but then, I draw heavily on personal experience in writing Q as well, and Anderson, and lots of other people. T'Laren has flaws, can't always save the day, and isn't more important than Q to the plot.

10. Where do the other stories referenced in The OH Story Tree fit into Only Human?

They don't. All of them so far are spinoffs using the backstory to Only Human, but beginning either before Only Human does or right around the same time and going into an alternate universe.

11. Can you e-mail me when you start Chapter Five?

See the mailing list information above. in question 5.

12. Where do you post Only Human?

Each section of Only Human is posted to alt.startrek.creative as I finish it. It will also be posted to the Qniverse list, and, since Chapter 4 will in fact contain sex, I will be posting it to alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated/ASCEML mailing list. Also, if you want a sneak preview, it's in draft form on the mailing list. And when I complete a chapter I post it to my account on fanfiction.net.

13. I think this story is really great and it's inspired me to write a story of my own based on your backstory. Is this okay with you?

If all you want to do is another spinoff of Deja Q, that's as much your right as it was mine-- you don't need my permission. Go ahead. (And let me see it when you're done, pretty please! :-)) But if you want to write a spinoff of Only Human, using my characters and/or situations, please e-mail it to me before you post it or publish it anyplace, and I ask that you not publish in a printed fanzine until after Only Human sees publication. I reserve the right to decide if your story uses my original characters in a way that's consistent with their personality, and the situations in a way that's consistent with the logic of the original, before you post to the Net. (Throwaway walkons are one thing; I accept these as homage. But if you make one of my characters a major recurring character in your work, I really want to know before you publish.)

14. This is a really great story. Why don't you submit it to Pocket Books?

Because Pocket Books will only take mediocre stories. :-) Seriously, this story violates nearly all of Pocket's guidelines-- it focuses on a character who's not a main crew member in one of the series, it is an alternate universe, it changes characters permanently, it contains sexual situations, and it's too long. I could revise the too long part, but I'm not willing to touch the others.

15. Well, will you be publishing it as a fanzine?

Maybe. I originally thought I would, but fanzines are dying. I'll make the decision when it's done.

16. Why aren't you writing professionally?

Because so far only three places have bought my stuff. :-)

17. You have been published professionally? Where?

I published "Calley's Story", about one of the werewolves from the roleplaying game "Werewolf: The Apocalypse" by White Wolf Studios, in "When Will You Rage?", a paperback anthology edited by Stewart Wieck. It's back in print now. Also, and probably of most interest to you, a Q story of mine won honorable mention in Pocket Books' Strange New Worlds competition, and thus was published in the first Strange New Worlds anthology, available from Amazon right now. I also had the original short story "The Maker of Tongues" published in Tales of the Talisman, the Dec. 2006 issue.

18. Why don't you write a novel for Pocket Books?

I might. But I want to go pro with original work first.